John D. Rockefeller. Net Worth: $318 billion. A short history of John D. Rockefeller

Transcription

1 John D. Rockefeller Net Worth: $318 billion A short history of John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller ( born July 8, 1839 died May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist 1. Rockefeller changed the petroleum industry 2 and set the stage for what it meant to be a philanthropist. In 1870, he founded the Standard Oil Company and ran it until he retired in Standard Oil began as an Ohio partnership formed by John D. Rockefeller, his brother William Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, chemist Samuel Andrews, and Stephen V. Harkness. Rockefeller kept his stock and as gasoline became more important in America. Rockefeller s wealth soon soared and he became the world's richest man and first American billionaire, he is often given the name the richest person in history. John D. Rockefeller spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement. His money was mainly used to create the foundations that gave support to many important causes. The causes that John D. Rockefeller supported was education, health care, and scientific research. His foundations helped the development of medical research, and were important in the destruction of hookworm and yellow fever. He is also the founder of both The University of Chicago and Rockefeller University. He was a devoted Northern Baptist and supported many church-based organizations throughout his life. Rockefeller adhered to total abstinence from alcohol and tobacco throughout his life. Cartoon of John D. Rockefeller A poem John D. Rockefeller wrote at the age of 86 I was early taught to work as well as play, My life has been one long, happy holiday; Full of work and full of play- I dropped the worry on the way- And God was good to me everyday. 1 Philanthropist: Someone who has a lot of money and gives it away to people who need it. 2 Petroleum Industry: The people that make gas for cars, boats, airplanes.

2 Andrew Carnegie Net Worth: $298 billion A short history of Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (born 25 November August 1919) was a Scottish-born American industrialist, businessman, and philanthropist 3. He was an immigrant to America when he was young along with his parents. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which was later merged with several smaller companies to create U.S. Steel. With the money he made from business, he turned to philanthropy and worked to give better education to America by founding the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Carnegie gave away most of his money to build libraries, schools, and universities in America, England and other countries; he also made sure that his employees who had worked for him would have money when they retired. He is often regarded as the second richest man in history. Carnegie started as a telegrapher and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. Steel was where Andrew Carnegie made his fortune. In the 1870s, he founded the Carnegie Steel Company, a step which made his name as one of the Captains of Industry. By the 1890s, the company was the largest and richest industrial enterprise in the world. Carnegie sold it to J.P. Morgan in 1901, who created US Steel. Carnegie devoted the remainder of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with a focus on local libraries, world peace, and education and scientific research. His life has often been referred to as a true "rags to riches" story. A cartoon of Andrew Carnegie 3 Philanthropist: Someone who is very rich and gives away a lot of their own money.

3 Henry Ford Net Worth: $188 billion A short history of Henry Ford Henry Ford ( born July 30, 1863 died April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and one of the first to use the modern assembly line. His introduction of the Model T automobile changed the way Americans traveled and changed the way cars were made in America. Henry Ford was an inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents 4. As owner of the Ford Company he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He was known to have started "Fordism", that is, the mass production of large numbers of inexpensive automobiles using the assembly line, this was successful because of the high wages he paid his workers. Ford had an idea that if people from around the world bought the same things, then the world would be at peace. Henry Ford's plan was to make Ford cars at a very low price so the American people could buy them. He also wanted a Ford dealership in every city in North America. Henry Ford left most of his money to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control Ford Motor Company for the rest of time. An image of the Ford assembly line. The assembly line, is a fast way to make a car because when one part of the car is done; the car then travels down the line to the next worker that puts another part of the car together. The car will take little time to put together. 4 Patent: whenever you invent something you get a patent so everybody knows you invented it.

4 J.P. Morgan Net Worth: $28 billion A short history of J.P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 March 31, 1913) was an American banker and art collector who controlled the money of many large businesses and industries during his lifetime. In 1892 Morgan arranged the bringing together of Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houston Electric Company to make the company General Electric. After being the man behind the start of the Federal Steel Company he brought together the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron businesses to form the United States Steel Corporation in Many people say that J.P. Morgan actually saved or rescued the U.S. national economy on two separate occasions. He bequeathed 5 much of his large art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and to the Wadsworth Atheneum of Hartford, Connecticut. J.P. Morgan died in Rome, Italy, in 1913 at the age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, John Pierpont "Jack" Morgan, Jr. Although J.P. Morgan did not own any large business, he was the man behind the scenes that gave business owners advice so their companies did not lose money. He was the brains behind the operation, meaning he knew how to make sure people did not lose their money and even saved the United States economy from losing all its money. A Painting of J.P. Morgan (is he holding a knife?) 5 Bequeathed: To give away

5 Cornelius Vanderbilt Net Worth: $167 billion A short history of Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt ( born May 27, 1794 died January 4, 1877), also known by many as The Commodore or Commodore Vanderbilt, was an American entrepreneur 6 who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the head of the Vanderbilt family. Among other companies, Cornelius Vanderbilt started the Accessory Transit Company (a company that ships things from place to place by train). Ruthless in business, Cornelius Vanderbilt was said by some to have made few friends in his lifetime but many enemies. In his will, he disowned all his sons except for William, who was as ruthless in business as Cornelius and the only one Cornelius believed had the ability to maintain the Vanderbilt business empire. At the time of his death, aged 82, Cornelius Vanderbilt's fortune was estimated at more than $100 million. He willed $95 million to son William but only $500,000 to each of his eight daughters. His wife received $500,000 in cash, their New York City home, and 2,000 shares of stock in New York Central Railroad. Vanderbilt gave little of his vast fortune to charity, leaving the $1 million (the equivalent of $19 million today) he had promised for Vanderbilt University and $50,000 to the Church of the Strangers in New York City. According to "The Wealthy 100" by Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther, Vanderbilt would be worth $167 billion in 2007 dollars. A Cartoon of Cornelius Vanderbilt (Why does it show Vanderbilt so much bigger than the rest?) 6 Entrepreneur: Someone who takes risks in trying to make money in business.